And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Are common chemicals scrambling your hormones? http://www.usaweekend.com/98_issues/980215/980215hormones.html Ingredients in shampoos, dyes and detergents may be mixing up your hormonal signals. No one knows for sure, but the EPA is stepping up research. By Brenda Biondo OZENS OF synthetic chemicals found in our food, environment and everyday products have proven harmful to wildlife and lab animals. Now there's a new focus on whether they're putting people at risk, too, by playing havoc with hormones that control reproduction and development. "Hormone disruption has emerged as one of our top research priorities over the past couple of years," says Lawrence Reiter at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After reviewing nearly 300 studies, the EPA concluded in 1997 that hormone-disrupting chemicals "can lead to disturbing health effects in animals, including cancer, sterility and developmental problems." The agency said the jury is still out on whether these chemicals -- many originating in pesticides, plastics and industrial pollutants -- are causing similar problems in humans. But it called for stepped-up research because of potential risks, especially for children. THE RISK FOR BOTH SEXES The stakes are high because hormones play such a crucial role in body functions. Produced by the endocrine glands, hormones act as chemical messengers that tell cells in organs and tissues what to do. Hormones like estrogen and testosterone, for example, help determine how sex organs develop and function. Scientists want to know if man-made chemicals that can interfere with the hormonal system are responsible for plummeting sperm counts in men in many parts of the world and for other problems such as the dramatic increase in a defect of the penis in U.S. newborns. Also of concern: whether girls are reaching puberty unnaturally early. A recent study of 17,000 U.S. girls showed that 48 percent of black girls and 15 percent of white girls showed signs of puberty by age 8. Doctors offer several explanations, some benign. One is that "normal" development ages may be based on flawed data, or that better nutrition in recent decades has had an impact. But some researchers worry that ingredients in some shampoos, dyes and detergents are absorbed through the skin and then scramble hormonal signals. INDUSTRY CAN'T IGNORE IT A number of people believe there's already ample evidence to indict several chemicals. "At what point do you say there are enough red flags?" asks University of Missouri biology professor Frederick vom Saal, one of several experts working with the National Academy of Sciences on the issue. Vom Saal says his research shows a chemical in the lining of cans leaches into food in amounts capable of disrupting hormones in humans. The chemical industry sees things differently. Hormone disruption "is a plausible hypothesis; you can't walk away and ignore it," says Jon Holtzman of the Chemical Manufacturers Association. But so far, he says, "the replicated, peer-reviewed research has not turned up significant problems." His group is spending $4 million in the next two years to research the issue. <end excerpt ALSO SEE: Hormone Disrupting Chemicals http://www.envirotrust.com/soutline.html General Information A Science Summary NET Reports 1. Hormone Disruptors in the Great Lakes Region 2. Great Lakes Background Fact Sheet. Our Stolen Future Scientific Summary Neurological and Behavorial Effects http://www.envirotrust.com/stoleover.html Then check your area by zipcode at: www.scorecard.org to see who in your area is emitting these chemicals "legally" Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
